Shana Tovah!

Shana Tovah for all who are celebrating Yom Teruah and Rosh Hashanah. Sound the shofars!

Eat sweet things to commemorate the goodness of the Almighty!

We blow our shofar in anticipation of the upcoming days of Yom Kippur and the Sukkot holiday...days of reflection, thanks, sobriety, gratefulness, repentance, and joy!

Here's a video that made us smile :)

Shabbat shalom :)

Masterpieces

(Clicking on image will enlarge)

There are amazing worlds right before my eyes. Whether it's in a pot or in the ground, the beauty that surrounds me in what we often consider simple things mesmerizes me...and I feel like a child again.

I love the way leaves are patterned, and how the sun backlights stems, veins, tendrils, and petals of plants. I love the hiding places under umbrellas of leaf clusters...the places where lizards and shady things lurk in their busy semi-hidden worlds. I love the worlds of insects that go about their business, nonplussed by my presence, and the birds that fuss at me and then work up the courage to nip down to a favorite plant nearby for a juicy bug or chance seed.

I love how the earth drinks the water, from rain or from the hose, down...and how it pools slightly when it's had enough for the moment. I love the beads of moisture in the morning dews, or just after the rains, when all the blades of grasses and the leaf curves are jeweled with them.

I love the sounds, and knowing what birds are in the thicket even when I can't see them. I love the crunches, the soft swishes, the aliveness of walking among the garden, aware. I learn secrets. I learn where the velvet ants have their nests under the leaf mould, where the fire ants attempt to make towers of sand, where finger-sized lizards hide and play and court their mates. I watch tightly-rolled leaf blades unfurl as they grow towards the sun, and I see fuzzy pumpkin vines push past the limits of their boundaries, always questing for more places unknown.

I see where the armdillos rooted and tilled at night among the rows for juicy subterranean treats, without much consideration for my planting schemes. I also found the places, right in the middle of the nearly-mature pea patch, where two small deer must have nestled themselves one evening, content after the rain had cleared.

I hear the sticky, suction sound of tree frogs that climb our windows at night outside to make the most of the flying insects the light attracts, and their squeaky-toy songs.

The plants, the birds, the insects, the soil, the air currents, the moisture, the heat, the night sounds and smells, the fragrances...are a moving and living masterpiece, always changing.

I'm so grateful for such beauty, so thankful to God. It is all I need to know He is good.

I don't need much when there is so much to witness and be a part of, in these secret worlds in my own square of dirt...if it can even be said to be anyone's at all. Whomever's it is, I'm really glad to be welcomed into these moments. They feed me like the fullest table.

I hope you're finding the wonders in the worlds hidden nearby...the garden, woods, plants, animals.

I think contentment just may be the best sort of excitement around :)

Shabbat shalom

These well-traveled pages, my riches.

I cling to these words.

When everything else in my life fell away, these words remained.

I hope your week was full and fulfilling.

The sun's about down here, and we're enjoying our weekly wind-down for this shabbat we so look forward to...every week, it's the perfect way to stop everything, breathe, relax, be thankful for so many things, and to leave our worries and our bills behind closed doors till next week.

We wish you a weekend of refreshing, and of all of the garden's new and awakening things! Thank you for stopping in here, and for the friendships that grow across the miles.

We are grateful for you :)

Shabbat shalom

Psalm 119: 54 ~Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage ~

Shabbat shalom :)

Shabbat Shalom

During dark days, there is still One who does not change, and who continues to guide through the darkness. Just a reminder to myself, when I look to tomorrow and wonder what will come.

Psalm 18:28 For You light my lamp; YHVH my Elohim illumines my darkness.

I light the candles tonight and am thankful for the week past, and a day of rest. And I thankful for the days to come and the opportunity to work to fill them with a renewed fervor, and renewed hope.




I hope you have a wonderful night and day tomorrow. I appreciate my friends here so much, and the friends I hope to make in the future. Thank you for your friendship!

From our house to yours, shabbat shalom :)

Just Thoughts

I've just about had it.

I'm at the precipice.

Seriously. I think I'm entering my Solitary Yurt Dweller phase.

I watched Story of the Weeping Camel...and I felt jealous of a family of yurt-dwelling shepherds in the Gobi Desert.

Wordsworth wrote "the world is too much with us."

He was writing about the burden of self-imposed "progress"...a society spinning out of control by the force of its own innovations.

I exist in a world of periphery, and have felt for some time that that's the actual world. It's where all the Scratch-and-Dents collect to catch their breaths or be Not Quite, or to patch their wounds. It's where the clean-up seems to never end, but there is a comradery of humanity and imperfection.

What of the speeding, bleeding blur of Modernism and Progress that spews out its casualties like so much flotsam and jetsam at ever-increasing frequencies? This is not the life I can endure....tried it, but it's not sustainable, that speed, that acceleration. On the sidelines is where the real action percolates...the slower sort beyond employee of the month plaques, easier this, more convenient that, disposable everythings.

I just got back from a quick trip to... (It's becoming more bizarre)...the grocery store. Right there, above the refrigerated eggs and next to the kosher sauerkraut, a sign above a vacuum sealed stack of packaged food, "Ready-to-eat pancakes...fresher than homemade!"
(Have we truly sunk to this subterranean low of marketing suggestability??)
These were not frozen pancakes, or pancake mix, or pourable pancake batter...these were refrigerated ones...in the gourmet fridge pickles section. And just how does one get something fresher than homemade? eat it at the source before any preparation at all??

I opt out of eating live chickens or anything else fresher than homemade.

I go now to my rebellious and quickly-vanishing world of stirring my own pancakes, having a conversation on one of those old fashioned numbers called a wall phone, to catch up with people before their last names, zip codes, spouses, presidents, diseases, or jobs change again.

Here are the things I'm getting sick of being convinced I "need"...

Computer.
Mortgage.
A certain level of income.
Packaging.
A college degree.
Phone, any sort, especially with gadgets and options.
All on-grid appliances. Time-savers. Things with electric plugs.
More than two changes of clothes.
More than two pairs of shoes.
Makeup (that's pretty much gone now, anyway, in my case)
Cars.
TVs, all electronics, including gaming and music devices.
House with mortgage. Oops, already said that!
Electricity.
Credit cards (even the paid-off sort), checkbooks, drivers' licenses, forms of I.D.
Entree and three vegetables three times a day.
Pharmaceuticals.
Lawnmower.
Lawn.
Mailbox.
Mail (with the exception of seed catalogs and snail mail from friends!)
Fashionable clothes.
Walmart.
Sheets, curtains, stuff. (Well...at least the stuff)

I think I can do pretty well with a good sleeping bag, a can of Sterno, and couple of good pots, a roll of clothesline and the dried contents of the bottom shelf of my pantry. A good water source. Something for soaping up myself or my clothes periodically.

Oh, and some sort of gun that shoots ratshot. So I can sit on the front porch and take aim at any IPods, GIS, Blackberrys, or other atrocities of progress that parade down my street.

I hope my husband gets home soon, before he finds I've hauled all our household belongings to Goodwill, traded our house via craigslist for a year's supply of good tarps, and there's a camel standing in the empty garage.

I'm in a mood, and just in time for shabbat (and some much-needed rest...can you tell??) Let's see if this, too, shall pass.

(I secretly kind of hope not...)
------------------------------------

Everyone have a restful shabbat...hug the ones you're with! :)
shabbat shalom!
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Brief update. I've had a few hours of sleep since writing this post.... Ummmm...?? Well, I guess I explored my inner ascetic? I'd make a "kinder, gentler" list upon more rested reflection, but I do often ask myself when all these "needs" became so concrete. Not that I want to work a pump handle or haul buckets when I need water, and I sooooooo love a hot shower or bath! And that soft bed came in really handy right now, ahhh :) Well, Yurt Robbyn lurks inside to tame the more spoiled version of myself from time to time, which is a good thing. And at last check I found one happy husband relaxing in the living room, and no camel in the garage...

;-)



---------------------------

Later note: Thank you to Latigo Liz for this Lemonade award for Attitude/Gratitude...I'm grateful!!

Some More Roastin' and Toastin'

I tried roasting pumpkin seeds today for the first time. Mine came out a little bit overdone, probably because I mixed some onion powder in with the oil and salt and maybe the onion scorched a bit. I'll add it afterwards next time. But even so, it is tasty!



This is the turkey soup the baked pumpkin flesh went into...it's simmering till Jack gets home. I'm still a bit achey and such from the bronchitis this week, and all I really want is easy food and a warm hubby to curl up with. I do have to say it's been nicer going grocery shopping each week knowing that there is a freezer full of turkey and some other things at home as the backbone of the week's meals. I had no idea it would make this big a difference, but it does. And as much turkey as we stocked up on before the holidays, at the incredible holiday discounts, we've eaten a lot of turkey dishes. For some reason, the turkey soup stock is the one thing we never seem to get tired of...it's seen many incarnations.

I am very very thankful!

I plan to post more next week...this week was just full of working and staying under wraps and recovering from this cold.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy celebration for your holiday this week!

Tonight we light the hannukiah, like we planned on doing the past few nights. Tonight's our first night together this week!

Maybe I'll have more to write soon and my posts will be less boring :) I still have a lot to post about the visit to ECHO, my wish list for the upcoming garden, the progress Jack has made on the lot next door, and some new recipes I'm trying.

I lost another pound or so (not sure how, maybe all the soup?), so yay!

For those of you in the upper 48, stay warm!!

Shabbat shalom...

Why I Have Changed My Mind About Florida

I'm not much of a Florida person. I moved here to be with my husband, but quite against my will had it not been necessary at the time.

I'm not a beaches person, though they're stunningly beautiful.
I don't relish over-100 degree fahrenheit temps.
I don't appreciate over-priced properties.
Not a huge fan of constant tourist influxes.
Hurricanes are low on my list of favorite weather systems.
Florida architecture? Hmmm.
Palm tree vs. oak tree? Oak tree.
Trout stream vs. swamp? Oh trout stream, how I long for thee.
I won't even tell you how it feels when you have to go north to be in the South.


And so on and so on.


Until today...

when my hubby surprised me and took me for a day trip to an ECHO test site...where they test seeds/plants and grow crops and forest gardens to help train workers headed for underdeveloped countries, and they experiment with crops suitable for different climates with indigenous plants and plants with multiple uses.

And methods that are not technology-dependent.
And no-till/pro-permaculture methods of farming.
And an emphasis on small farming rather than big agriculture.
And an emphasis on finding solutions for food shortages and poverty by training people in self-sufficiency, especially agriculture.

Oh, and they have chickens (and other animals).

This was like paradise.


And here are some reasons that today I changed my mind about Florida. At least when it comes to gardening...

Keep in mind it's late December now. Here are some scenes that greeted us today -- none have been altered in any way. You can click on each picture to get a better idea of why it was so glorious being there up close and personal...

I'll post more about what we saw, but for now, I just wanted to share some eye candy. EVERY tree seemed to be loaded with fruits. We got to taste a lot of plants we'd never tasted...yum! There was so very much to see, there just was not time enough to take it all in. We'll have to make future trips and hopefully be allowed to wander through and savor each part, really get a good look at a lot of their innovations, really study the plants and make a good plant list, see how they dealt with different topographical and climate specifics...and so on. I won't even tell you about the nursery till then...so many multiple-use plants and so many plants I've never heard of, wooo...FUN!!

We didn't leave unscathed. We did purchase a jujube sapling, a few seeds, and a 6 dollar old book entitled Folk Remedies of the Low Country by Julia Morton.

I have to go now...we walked and walked and walked all morning and now I'm tired. I was able to be with my sweetie all day, which is the best sort of day to have!

I'll share more about our jaunt as I can this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful night and day tomorrow :)

We're now heading into the last hours before nightfall and I have to get some things done before shabbat begins.

Hug the ones you love and stay warm, all you who are in The Real U.S.A....ha :) I hope your week was great!

Shabbat shalom :)

Shabbat shalom!!!

Shabbat Shalom

I customarily turn off the computer each shabbat. I'm overdue on responding to all the wonderful and thoughtful comments on some of my past posts...I'll do that this weekend. Just wanted to say I'm not neglecting it, and I haven't forgotten. I really love being among such a great online community and don't take it for granted!

I'm racing to beat sundown tonight, so have to cut this short. I'm so grateful for so many things...so many that I don't even have time to list them all right now. I hope you enjoy a restful evening and tomorrow and that your week was a good one...and if not, that it's nearly over and that next week will be better!

Till later...

Shabbat shalom! :)

L'Shana Tovah!

Apples and honey symbolize the sweetness we hope ushers in the upcoming year...

Happy Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah, from our home to yours!!!



It's the Jewish New Year, and time for celebrating, honoring, contemplating, reflecting, accounting for our actions and attitudes, petitioning, and making right any procrastinated amends.



Usually, we'd have a round challah, to symbolize the cycling of the months beginning again...

The shofar here has been sounded, as are ones all around the world, for joy in our King, sorrow for wrongdoing, and as a wake up call to examine our lives, purposes, and actions with clarity.

We had a wonderful dinner with family tonight, which marked entry into this time that will ultimately culminate at Yom Kippur.

This video made us smile :)



Each year we learn a bit better how we want to preserve and observe these important appointed times. Each year we miss out on a few things and add something meaningful...we learn and we look forward to each holiday a little more as the months progress.

Ah, and now for a rest...another great part of this time together! Another year has passed, another has begun :)

We are so grateful to the Almighty for ALL His blessings and patience towards us this year, and pray for His continued mercies and guidance in the days to come.

Taking a Break

I'm behind with everything, and I'm going to have to let the blog drift along in the stream a bit as I try to get my backlogged house upkeep and some projects back on course.

I also have to get my head around a new turn in direction for our homesteading efforts. The acquiring land thing has not been an easy process...it's more of a series of closed doors, dead ends, and a lot of negotiating and waiting. I had hoped to be able to make an announcement soon along the lines of some final progress, but at the 11th hour the other party reneged. So sometimes the expectations and re-adjustments of mindset are a bit of a roller-coaster, but it's all good. It's not a bad thing because we do trust that there's a right timing and a right place, and it will manifest when it's meant to. (Of course we're doing our part to keep things rolling along)

I need a break for a few days, and I'll be back refreshed. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Maybe I'll get a chance for some minutes of down time to just sit back and enjoy all your wonderful blogs...seems like things have been so busy I've been missing out on catching up.

Along those lines, I'd like to wish a very special congratulations to Karl and Tabitha at the Omelay site for the recent birth of their newest son! Everyone looks tired and very very happy, and we wish them all the best!

Hoping to be back soon... :)

Shabbat Shalom

Goodnight Moon, Friday Version

In the great green half-swept room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon flower in bloom
And a picture of
the cow jumping over the moon a bride and a groom
There were three little bears sitting on chairs soft pillows with some wear and tear
And two little kittens slippers
And a pair of mittens nail clippers
And a a little toy house cup of tea
And a young mouse missing key
And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush the song of a thrush
And a quiet napping lady whispering hush snoring much

Goodnight room
Goodnight moon
Goodnight chores to be finished soon
Goodnight picture from honeymoon
Goodnight pillows with wear and tear
Goodnight slippers
And toenail clippers
Goodnight tea
Goodnight key
Goodnight comb and goodnight brush
Goodnight to the song of the thrush
Goodnight napping lady snoring much

Goodnight stars friends
Goodnight air home

And to all, Shabbat Shalom.... :)

Closing the Week

What a week...

and I have so much for which to be grateful.

I've been reflecting a lot on relationships, both present and past. On how many mistakes I've made throughout my lifetime, and how those have shaped the person I am today, the world I inhabit.

I realize that what I have that's good is because of God's continued goodness and forgiveness, and I am so grateful. How careless, overly busy, and irresponsible I've been at different points in my life, sometimes now, with the fleeting and most cherished of gifts...relationships. For some reason, I can remember so many words I wish I'd never said..and I wonder how many I don't remember.

I heard a rabbi once paint a verbal picture by quoting a tradition...that each word we utter is a living thing, and like an angel it can be an agent of life or of death. I wonder how many of each I have contributed, and I'm resolved to either keep closer watch on my words altogether, or make sure they adhere to the admirable goal of "do no harm." I know the words I give my daughter come back to me many times, and I marvel that they've become a part of her. What an honor...what a trust. What a wake-up call!

As far as the blog this week goes, I've not had the time I'd like to have had to post and to answer comments...I will hopefully do so after shabbat. Thank you for your patience...every single person who comments here is appreciated so much by both myself and Jack!

It has not been a bad week, it has been a full week. For some reason, today I've been moved by the realization that life is so fleeting and so precious, and is to be honored and protected. And valued...

Jack surprised me this week with a gift...it's the 4th anniversary of our engagement. We celebrate both our engagement and our wedding anniversaries, since our engagement was probably the highlight for both of us that sealed us as committed to each other for life, even before it was made "official" with wedding vows and signed papers. Anyway, I completely forgot the day this year...oh my! :( But Jack didn't forget, and the words he shared with me are even better than the lovely token he bought for my gift.

This week closes, and I feel I've fallen behind with many tasks, feeling nostalgic, and quite tired from the week's demands. But the beautiful thing about shabbat...or at least one of the beautiful things...is that it is a clean slate. It is a required rest in which you're rewarded with an oasis of 24 hours of no labor, projects, busy-ness, and preoccupation. We can eat, sleep, and take time to actually see each other...watch a sunrise or sunset, be together, worship in the ways that are most natural.

I had a slew of projects that never got done this week...I was going to post some of them here. Life happens, and blogs sometimes can't keep up. It was that way this week, and so goes the rhythm of our days. Ah, that's life...and life is so good :)

I wish for you the very best of refreshing tonight and tomorrow...I may not be here as often at times, but it's not for lack of loving my blog friends :) I appreciate you so much!

Hug your precious ones :)

Shabbat shalom!

Hope Your 4th Sparkles!

This is the celebration of our country's Independence Day, and I'm grateful to be a citizen here.

I may not sound like it at times.

But I am. I am in a country where I can express my opinions and work to preserve the rights our Constitution was designed to protect.

Freedom to change things is something to celebrate...

Here are some of the fireworks from the Capitol last year...I hope your celebration is warm and full of family, friends, or some peaceful down time. I'm so grateful forthe risks and sacrifices of many who came before us whose actions helped to shape the freedoms we have today.

May we shoulder that responsibility with wisdom and grace...



Have a wonderful night and day tomorrow.....enjoy the fireworks in your own neck of the woods :)


Shabbat Shalom and Happy 4th!

Quite A Week

First of all, I'm loving my blog friends! Thank every one of you who have commented on this past week's posts for your wonderful insights and help...it is very appreciated! I want to do justice in responding, and will try to do so over the weekend, probably on Sunday. Thank you for being such wonderful friends!!

I was delighted to hear that two of my wonderful blog friends, Kathie from Two Frog Home and Jess from Practical Nourishment actually were able to meet...what a treat, and how neat that they live within visiting distance :) What were the odds that would happen in Montana? I love when that happens in life, especially finding friends in the most unexpected but delightful ways.

This week has been very full for us. It has definately had its ups and downs.

The biggest and hardest-hitting thing was our recieving news of Jack's mom's illness. I don't know if I've mentioned it, since we've not been at the computer this week as much. She is in the advanced stages of an aggressive cancer, and it took our family by surprise. His mother is a remarkable woman with an incredible mind and will of her own. She staunchly made her way in my husband's early years when circumstances would have been daunting, and possibly overwhelming, to the average mother. She has been no average mother. My husband has inherited her backbone and determination to make a better life, and his mother has figured largely into his own life. We are already antipating this great loss, and praying that her last days can be eased. Any prayers you might have to that effect are very appreciated. She has lived a full life, to the age of 95, and has been active up until this latest health crisis, caring for her own husband of advanced age even to the present. She is also one of the most intelligent women you'd meet. We love Mima.

Plans have to be made soon.

The other news was alluded to somewhat in my other blog, and that is the positioning of a couple of family members who are not welcome news in our lives. We'll leave the details out, but they have circled in on Jack's mom now that she is ill in the hopes of financial gain under the guise of being "helpful," but have a long history of having taken advantage of others in similar circumstances by "helping themselves." Understandably, we are not only concerned about Jack's mom's vulnerability, but also she and her husband's safety. These two family members have a history of being violent, but come off as being pussycats when they want something. Again, prayers in behalf of this situation are appreciated.

Jack found termites in Bucketville, our outdoor garden as such. Again, thank you for your great and helpful comments, which I'll respond to this weekend, over this concern. The plants seem healthy enough, and it's been very rainy here...rain nearly every day. We have NO complaints about that! Most of the plants seem to be doing very well, and we have some new additions...of course!...even though we try to limit ourselves from acquiring more plants, we, uh, both have the same addiction to enjoyment in finding news ones we've not tried before, especially if they are marked on sale. I'll post about the new green babies this upcoming week :)

As for my health resolutions, I have lost a little weight, and am still holding. There was some emotional eating (hello, biscuits!) earlier in the week, but those were walked and sweated off at work. I don't mind at all...we've overall adopted a much healthier mindset, and keep tweaking the particulars to better and better habits and foods all along. I'm very happy about that. Our daughter is also doing the same, and it does my heart good to see her eating really great fruits and vegetables as she now is preparing many things on her own as a young adult. She continues to maintain a very demanding schedule as a new nurse, and is doing a terrific job...she really cares about and for her patients and is going forth carefully and a bit wiser into life now that she's finding out about that big "world out there." We sure love her! She has gained confidence and also has been conferring with Jack for advice on things never yet (in her young life) experienced...car maintenance, insurance, safety issues, job, finances, etc.

We're never far away from the subject of the anticipated homestead on acreage...yes, I know the song gets old, we repeat ourselves on this a lot. The reasons we're wanting it elsewhere are crucial to our future rather than just being the matter of preferred location. This week we've both been back at the drawing board with future house plans, which is always fun. We've run the gamut from a one-room cabin to drawings that look like a community could move into...ha! The fun part, at least for me, are the dates we have together getting to talk about what we need, what we want, what is easy to build--and fast, both of our ideas as to room locations, and etc etc. If you've ever had your own spouse or sweetheart be your primary catalyst and confidante in things like this, it's very motivating and just plain FUN :) And it makes all the castaway drawings easier to swallow as we both go back to the drawing board, again and again :)

It's now nearly dark, and shabbat draws near. For us, it's a time of rest and time together. Thankfully, we just squeezed in the shopping just in time, whew!

For anyone who follows the tradition Jewish weekly Bible portion, this week's is Parsha Korach, which is Numbers 16:1 through 18:32. It's part of a yearly reading cycle followed worldwide by many folks, so just putting it here. We try to follow along every week, since we're mostly at home with no group to meet with nearby.

We love all our blog and online friends, and thank you for making our lives so much richer...we love reading of your successes and challenges, your funny and serious moments, your thoughts and diversity, your families and friends, animals and plants, and ideas. The sharing here is so important. Even though we've had very little time to sit down and enjoy spare time reading blogs the past couple weeks, we know we'll be here often for inspiration and for friendship touchpoints. We hope to stop in for a hello soon, so don't give up on us :)

Here's to a restful and rejuvenating evening and day tomorrow to you, our friends. And if my sister sees this post, it's her first time to ever see my blog...I love you, sis!! Goodnight for now, and Shabbat Shalom!

I leave you with one of our favorite youtube wind-downs, a peaceful guitar rendition of the song Shalom Aleichem...peace unto you :)

The ??? That Jack Built

It's under construction....here's a peek! What is it? Um, I'm not sure, but he's the mastermind and has a plan, so it should be great :) There is an eight foot box of something-or-other leaning against my living room wall and is destined to be part of this structure, so this should be interesting!

Someday these will be spilling over neat, orderly raised beds (ideally...) But for now, these buckets will continue to do dual duty...to grow and to transport to the homestead, when we have one.

The citrus part of Bucketville...Meyer lemons, key lime, persian lime, more meyer lemons...

This is Bucketville's beginner herb garden. The balm is trying to jump the wall ...the grass is always greener...

The very messy but quite tasty collection grows...

closeup of the lemon again...mainly because I can't believe we actually have real lemons on those little baby bucket trees...

Here is one of the two surviving grapevines...two bit the dust. These were just sticks a few weeks ago, but some hot sun and a lot of rain, and off they went!

This is another of my husband's serendipitous finds...a carambola, or starfruit tree! I'm always as tickled as he is when he stumbles across these discoveries...this one was a fraction of its original cost, and was the last good one at the store!

The herb we ordered and received recently...it has really taken off. Glad to see it thriving in this heat...it's been HOT out. It's showing no sign of stress and looks better than many of the other plants that are better established.

Jack brought this little Kiwi tree home today. He was at a favorite plant nursery (without ME, ahem...) and said the plant called to him when he walked by. He answered the call. Good thing I wasn't there because usually ALL the plants call to me, and he won't let me answer ;-) Or should I say, the answer is "see ya!"

I'm not posting here as frequently as I have recently, mainly because of the new job schedule. It may be a bit sporadic, but I'm not gone for good :) It's been physically demanding, but in a good way. There is also a whole different level of heat exhaustion, and many times I just want to sit in the cool and sip cold water and just chill out a bit longer.

Tonight's shabbat will be simple...we'll both likely be asleep quite early...we're bone tired! I've been up since 8 or so last night, and Jack's worked so hard this week both at work and around the house, mostly outdoors. There's homemade soup in the crockpot, and a roast in the oven, and now I'm calling it a night...and a week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and restful evening and day tomorrow! I'm so grateful for that great feeling of having worked hard, and now getting to rest and spend time with family. I hope you have that same cozy feeling tonight as your week comes to a close, and rejuvenation begins :) To all my friends in the blogosphere, I hope to catch up with some much-missed and long-overdue blog reading in the next few days...I appreciate my friends here so much!

The blog's now closed till Saturday sundown....Shabbat Shalom!

On Bounty and Tightening our Belts

This poorly-focused photo is of our first raspberries...the ONLY raspberries, since the canes aren't really liking the buckets as well as some of the other plants. But they are hanging in there!

"Bucketville" continues to grow and produce. Since we did not plant any plants for harvesting this summer (refer to past post for all that reasoning process), we have a lot of healthy and bountiful green things that will be edible... later. This has really encouraged both of us that we can grow things. We already are beginning to understand that some plants will do naturally well in this climate right from the very start, while others will need a bit of care (and more shade) until they're big enough to fend for themselves. Jack seems to have a way with germinating seeds we'd never have known for sure we could grow, and many we'd never thought of trying to grow...until we ate them or discovered the potential for an unusual fruit or use such as forage/fodder, or medicinal.

On this grateful Friday before shabbat sundown, I'm so thankful some of our "green babies" are really doing well. It's an encouragement that we can have a successful garden of our own on a larger scale the next time around.

Another thing to report is that the price of gasoline has taken a hard toll on our household. I am now between job assignments, so that's a budgetary hit. It now takes $50 for me to fill my car tank, and $60 for Jack's truck. That means I don't drive anywhere unnecessary, and his of course is for his commute. Today we had to make the decision to forgo purchasing any more local real milk...the grocery budget has shrunk and the commute for the milk, though local, is still an hour each direction. That's as local as we have around here. It's just not wise for us to continue that, and as we don't have a cow nearby, we'll be cutting back dramatically on the dairy now.

We're in the growing pain stage, but it's all good; we consider this time a valuable schoolmaster. We are experimenting and having some successes, and one thing I appreciate is finding some baseline for deciding what we will and won't be incorporating into the larger homestead plan for the longterm...we're finding out some of our preferences and getting familiar with other things we haven't started yet. We feel this is a huge benefit that might save us from making the mistake of investing precious resources in things we initially found appealing (tools, types of plants and trees, skills we want to undertake, animals we want to care for, types of house plans, what sort of gardens to put in and how they'll be cultivated and maintained, types of energy and sustainability aids, etc).

Last year, we were far enough away from our ultimate goal of acquiring land that we couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel being anything but a pinprick. Though I've not reported on it in a long time...of neccessity because of many pending negotiations that are premature, and many that have fallen through...we are now positioned much farther in that process than we expected to be at this stage. That is both a catalyst and a torture at time...ha!...like dangling a carrot in front of the donkey, closer and closer but not quite there yet.

But we can see the carrot! As we tighten our belts a notch, this is good practice in just another area we'll need ingenuity not as the exception, but as the norm. That's good practice for frugality overall, and even moreso on our homestead beyond the 'burbs (the one we hope to have in time) since at that point the plan will morph into phasing out our "outside jobs" and focus more on raising what we need right at home. Let's see what comes...the journey is incredible!

I'm very grateful for my husband, without whom I'd not be on this journey. He is all of my happiest moments...he is my most cherished friend and love. And I'm grateful, every day, to God...who made this world of beauty and possibility and has guided us and sustained us through some rough times and good. Without Him, I'd not have a truly unusual and original life...and it's the best sort to have :)

I'm also grateful for the bloggers who open parts of their lives online so that we can share and learn from them. I love you guys more than you know, and appreciate you so much!

Tonight, we share in the happiness of Kathie and her sweetheart at Two Frog Home as they have the joy of owning their first home!!! What a dream earned...and now realized! It was an especially great conclusion to a real nail-biting drama of ups and downs as the closing date grew near and there was so much back-and-forth...and a beginning of more beginnings. We're SO happy for you two, Kathie!!!

To all my fellow-bloggers and readers, may your dreams continue to be sustained with hope, prayers, and wonderful friends in this incredible online community...and may your night tonight and day tomorrow be restful and restoring.

The blog's now closed till sundown tomorrow. Shabbat Shalom!

The Debt Is Shrinking!

Today is a HUGE DAY!!!

We Paid Off The Car!!!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are thanking God for unexpected blessings that allowed us to reach this goal MUCH sooner than we'd anticipated...thank You thank You thank You, GOD!!!!

Whoosh, what a great feeling :)

We are grateful for so many things, and this is the icing on the cake. It's not been easy, but it IS happening. Little steps seem so slow and tedious and seem like they take forever sometimes, but they add up to bigger steps, and then Bang goes the debt! Next to pay...the student loan. The list grows shorter...

Did I mention Yaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy??? :) :) :)

For all our likeminded friends out here in the blog-o-sphere who're working hard to retire that debt, it IS SO worth it. Thank you for keeping us encouraged, and we hope you're encouraged each step of the way, too.

On that happy note, I sign off to finish up things before our shabbat rest. I hope everyone's weekend is lovely and restful and rejuvenating! I love and appreciate my friend here so much...thank YOU :)

Blog is closed until tomorrow sundown...

Shabbat shalom!

The Moroccan Experiment

I've worked myself into a rut with my cooking. There are buckets (literally! ha) of fresh herbs growing just outside my back door, and yet...ummm...I don't know how to use them.

...Yet!

This has got to change!

So, the exciting, exotic creature that I am (she says, pulling out the bellydance workout video she never used, for background music), I decided to try some Moroccan recipes. I'm drawn to them because for the most part, there are a few that require only basic ingredients with which I'm familiar. Those, plus about a bazillion spices, but not as daunting a list as, oh, say, Indian food.

If you have any Moroccan or Indian entree recipes that are first of all EASY, and secondly EASY, not to mention EASY, please forward them here for my experimentation. I don't have fancy or expensive cookware or a food processor, and must venture beyond the boundaries of Southern American Soul Food and the trusty PBJ. My oversize stockpile bag of Basmati rice is sulking in the pantry and begs for some stove time, and a worthy sauce or meat for companionship.

I have a childlike fancy for open air markets of any sort, and have always wanted to visit the North African souks if for not other reason than to absorb the riot of colors, fragrances, sounds, sights, and to people-watch. Oh, and very much to taste! With chicken, lamb, and beef as well as the array of vegetables in this cuisine, there is much in the way of kosher ingredients for me to want to recreate. I've indulged these fancies vicariously through such folks as the Not Eating Out in New York City blog, as the blog owner took her own trip to North Africa and wrote from a foodie perspective...you'll love poring over her journal archives of her trip last summer :)

I've indulged in a couple hours' online search for Moroccan recipes, each new find leading to other new finds, further taxing my amended grocery list...and sucking me deep into the swirling vortex of online-inspired kitchen possibilities. And now I'm feeling overwhelmed in that way that makes me take a deep breath and proclaim it'll be mashed potatoes and baked chicken again tonight. That's what I get for not planning a bit better! :)

That said, there are enough recognizable ingredients in some of the recipes I found that I think some unfamiliar combinations of things hiding in my spice cabinet might render some sort of new dish from things I already have. What'll it hurt to try?? I'm drawn to the unfamiliar, and looking into a pot of the same chicken thighs mixed with some unlikely (to me) companion ingredients becomes a leap to a land of spices and mystery simply by changing its description from "chicken thighs in sauce" to "Chicken Marrakesh."

I've never combined lamb or chicken with green olives and lemon slow cooked in a savory sauce...nor in a totally different sauce with prunes...nor in a less savory and more sweet presentation with fresh peaches and honey. The nice thing about many of these stews and sauces is that they are slow-cooked (most of the time), and that they are flexible to the incorporation of changing the vegetable portion of ingredients around a bit to include what's in season. I'm after decoding the mystery of specific flavors, namely spice combinations...something unfamiliar to my Southern cooking background, which relies more heavily on heartiness and straightforward-ness, strong sweet tea, and gravy on or with everything. Southern cooking elevates basic "peasant foods" to a feast. It's shy on fragrant spices, though, and for some reason, my body is craving those a lot more lately.

So, let's see! Can the Southern gal detach from her wedge of cornbread and plate of purple hull peas and sliced tomatoes long enough to go wild with the spice cabinet? Can she have the patience to wait as those spices perfume the house for hours while something exotic gurgles and sighs in the slow cooker...and stomachs growl at the prolonged suspense??

I'll experiment this weekend, and shall report back with some of the initial triumphs or goofs. Jack shall be my co-guinea pig and "partner in dine"...ha!

In the meantime, it's nearly shabbat and I'm off to spice something up and get it into the CrockPot so I dont have to cook tonight or tomorrow, and we can leisurely have crockpot Moroccan, with some basmati. At the best, it'll be mysterious and transporting. At worst, it'll be a nice hot dish of chicken and rice :)

I'm off to cook things up, and dance with scarves in the kitchen, and maybe we'll watch some Bogey and Bacall tonight...

Have a lovely night and day tomorrow! The blog is now closed till after shabbat....


Shabbat Shalom!!

Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Spices1.jpg